John Lundy – Northern Ireland

On Saturday, September 18th 1999 my life changed forever. I received a phone call to come immediately to Coleraine Hospital.

When I arrived I was met by the doctor who told me that my youngest son Aaron was dead.
Aaron had left home for work at 5am. He returned at 10am and then went to play a football match. He never came home.

There are no words to describe the shock and sorrow this had on myself, my wife Ann and our family. We were told the next day by a doctor that Aaron had a condition called Wolfe Parkinson White Syndrome and that he had been diagnosed when he was 16 years old by our doctor.

Aaron had been referred to a consultant who told him ‘continue life as normal, you will probably need an ablation in a few years but do not worry’. Aaron never told us about his condition so we never knew.

Wolfe Parkinson White Syndrome can be a life threatening condition – Aaron was never told to inform his parents, the doctors said they never told us because Aaron was already sixteen years old. He was never given medication, never given any information about his condition – just told not to worry – he was only sixteen years old at that time.

I am now a Northern Ireland representative for CRY. My aim is to raise awareness of cardiac risk in the young, I dedicate this work to the life of my very special son Aaron.